Accusations that Iranian citizens allegedly planned a terrorist plot in the U.S. and engaged people they believed were Mexican cartel operatives to help carry out the attack brought swift reactions from Texas lawmakers. Full Story
Protesters gathered outside the Headliners Club in Austin to urge U.S. House Speaker John Boehner and Congress to pass the American Jobs Act. Boehner was in Austin to attend a reception with several GOP congressmen from Texas. Full Story
U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, is still in the maybe column in the race to replace U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. But Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, says he won't run for that federal job; he might be looking instead at the lieutenant governor's post in 2014. Full Story
U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul's combination of personal wealth and a political straddle between the establishment and dissident factions in the GOP could make him a viable contender for the seat now held by U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Full Story
This week on the TribCast, Ross, Reeve, Ben and Scott consider Michael McCaul's potential entry into the U.S. Senate race, review Rick Perry and His Eggheads and talk about how nobody's talking about Ron Paul. Full Story
U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, is quietly exploring a run for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Kay Bailey Hutchison, Republican sources told The Texas Tribune on Tuesday. Full Story
Gov. Rick Perry is scoring some endorsements from GOP activists and officeholders, but support for Perry among his fellow Texas Republicans isn't unanimous. The Democrats, as you might expect, are vociferously in opposition. Full Story
Texas lawmakers marked the end the of shuttle program and criticized NASA’s course on Thursday, hours after the shuttle Atlantis landed in Florida. Gov. Rick Perry singled out President Obama for criticism. Full Story
After an El Paso stop that focused on immigration reform, President Barack Obama used his second stop, in Austin, to talk politics with a sea of fellow Democrats and raise money for his upcoming re-election campaign. Full Story
A Texas congressman is seeking to designate seven of the top Mexican cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations." Critics of the proposal fear such a designation could harm Mexico’s ability to wage its own fight against the cartels. Full Story
Most Texas voters haven't decided, but if they voted today, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst would lead the field for the Republican nomination to replace U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll. Full Story
Grissom (with Tedesco of the San Antonio Express-News) on high-speed police chases on the Texas-Mexico border, Hu and Hamilton draw a roadmap through the tangle of the Speaker's Race, M. Smith on the trouble with electronic supplements to science textbooks, Ramshaw interviews patient privacy advocate Deborah Peel, Aguilar on Cuba and Texas and trade, Hamilton on the latest in biotech from Texas A&M University, Stiles on who's in the money in Congress, Hu on the controversial renewal of the state lottery contract, yours truly on Tom DeLay's victory in the face of his conviction on money-laundering charges, and E. Smith with a Thanksgiving cornucopia of TribLive videos: The best of our best from November 22 to 26, 2010. Full Story
U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, says his failure to report millions in stock transactions on financial disclosure reports from 2008 and 2009 resulted from a clerical error made by his accountant. Full Story
Lawmakers are reeling from the bruising political battle over health care reform and are loath to take on another divisive issue and additional risky votes. So the prospects remain dim for legislation that would improve border security, provide a pathway to citizenship for millions and crack down on unscrupulous employers — but that doesn't mean everyone's forgotten about it, as the hundreds of thousands of advocates who marched on Washington, D.C., last weekend can attest. Full Story
The six Texas congressional candidates who ended the year with $1 million or more on hand are incumbents. Only two of the candidates with the 20 biggest bank accounts are not. Full Story
Democrat Jack McDonald surprised his supporters last month by dropping his 10-month bid for Congress. He said at the time he'd give money back to donors who want it back. Now come the details, in an email from the candidate to supporters. Full Story
Let's say you're a donor to a candidate or an elected official who quits a race mid-campaign or chooses to not run for reelection. What if you made a contribution to one of the nine Texas legislators who decided not to seek reelection this year, or to a former diplomat who toyed with a bid for governor but ultimately thought better of it, or to a tech executive who considered a challenge to a member of Congress but decided against running at the last minute? What happens to your money? Full Story